Posted: 3/10/2014 8:25:14 AM EDT
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A guy I know is looking to sell off this 1911. He stopped by my work so I could snap a few pictures of it, but I have NO idea what I'm really looking at, nor what possible price to offer.
I don't think it's a GI issue gun, so would what is it? Any idea of value? I took a few pictures, sorry I didn't get more. Any advice you experts can share would be great! Here are the pics: 
I'm sort of guessing that the thumb safety and hammer aren't original, but like I said, I'm no expert! Thanks for any info you could share! I have a feeling that I could buy this pretty cheaply, but I'm not sure where to start with an offer. Thanks! -Parke1 |
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Commercial model, manufactured in 1917.
Appears to be in fairly nice shape for the age but to determine value, we'd need to know how complete and accurate it is. Can you field strip it and get photos of all details and every mark/stamp you see on every part? Top and bottom and rear of slide, top, bottom and lugs of barrel, all marks on frame. Closeups of trigger, safety, MSH, etc... |
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Quoted:
Commercial model, manufactured in 1917. Appears to be in fairly nice shape for the age but to determine value, we'd need to know how complete and accurate it is. Can you field strip it and get photos of all details and every mark/stamp you see on every part? Top and bottom and rear of slide, top, bottom and lugs of barrel, all marks on frame. Closeups of trigger, safety, MSH, etc... Excellent, thanks for the info! Unfortunately, I'm not sure if I'll be able to see it again before I make an offer. Any ballpark just based on what is seen here? Just somewhere to start negotiating, and so I don't risk getting burned. Thanks again! -Parke1 |
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750 would be a nice starting point.
Finish is almost non existent. Commercial models in this condition don't command nearly the same value as their USGI counterparts of same condition. Slide stop has been replaced. Thumb safety and hammer look to be the originals. Bluing on the small parts holds up differently than the frame/slide, so that can't be used to determine if they are original or not. It's determined more by the way they are machined. Grips look nice and vintage but I don't know if they are original. The only big question is how the barrel is marked to know if it's original or not. |
Just a little follow up: I wound up offering the guy $650 as is. He wouldn't allow me to field strip the gun, as I "might damage the patina."  He declined my offer, saying that he needed at least $2500, since he believed that this gun was a World War II issue piece. I informed him as to the age, and that it wasn't possibly a WWII issued 1911, but he wouldn't hear it.
I heard back from him, saying that he sold it to a "gun specialist" for $700. 
Oh well, I'm still glad I got to see it, and I want to thank everyone again for their input. I missed this one, but you never know what will turn up next! |